Manufacturer: Donruss
Set Size: 660 Cards
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Set Notes: The 1985 Donruss baseball card set features some of baseballs best 1980s rookies. Included are Roger Clemens, Kirby Puckett and many other well known names. The front of the cards display a color photo of the player with the name and position in a colored line at the bottom. Team logo is printed in the lower right corner. A rich black boarder with red stripes frames the cards. The backs contain player stats and are printed on a light orange/yellow background. The black boarders make finding some cards in mint condition challenging.
Key Rookies From 1985 Donruss: 222 – Bret Saberhagen | 273– Roger Clemens | 325 – Eric Davis | 438– Kirby Puckett
Pricing chart includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information.
(Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
DISCLAIMER: This data is not intended as financial advice and should not be used as such. Please do your own research before making any investment or selling/buying decisions.
(–) : No Pricing Data Available | ($) USD Price Value | (¢) USD Price Under $1
The Free 1985 Donruss Rookie Card Price Guide
Tracking the current market value for the 1985 Donruss Baseball Rookie Cards. Below, find updated pricing data for ungraded (raw) copies, as well as verified PSA graded sales trends collected from secondary marketplaces.
| Rookie | Card # | Raw | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Tartabull | 27 | $1 | $10 | $12 | $50 |
| Mike Bielecki | 28 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Steve Lyons | 29 | 75¢ | - | $35 | $50 |
| Jeff Reed | 30 | $1 | - | $35 | - |
| Tony Brewer | 31 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| John Morris | 32 | $1 | $5 | - | - |
| Daryl Boston | 33 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Alfonso Pulido | 34 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Steve Kiefer | 35 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Larry Sheets | 36 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Scott Bradley | 37 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Calvin Schiraldi | 38 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Shawon Dunston | 39 | $2 | $10 | $30 | $440 |
| Charlie Mitchell | 40 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Billy Hatcher | 41 | $1 | $10 | $23 | $50 |
| Russ Stephans | 42 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Alejandro Sanchez | 43 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Steve Jeltz | 44 | $1 | - | $35 | - |
| Jim Traber | 45 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Doug Loman | 46 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Alvin Davis | 69 | $1 | $15 | $18 | $130 |
| Ricky Horton | 83 | $1 | - | - | $34 |
| John Gibbons | 116 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| R.J. Reynolds | 128 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Dave Meier | 147 | 50¢ | $5 | - | - |
| Joe Hesketh | 157 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Jerry Davis | 162 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| John Franco | 164 | $1 | $8 | $15 | $40 |
| Benny Distefano | 166 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Dwight Gooden | 190 | $4 | $20 | $30 | $350 |
| Jeff Robinson | 201 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Bret Saberhagen | 222 | $2 | $6 | $15 | $90 |
| Jim Presley | 240 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Jay Tibbs | 262 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Ken Dixon | 270 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Roger Clemens | 273 | $7 | $15 | $60 | $600 |
| Mike Mason | 281 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Frank Williams | 323 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Eric Davis | 325 | $3 | $30 | $35 | $165 |
| Jackie Gutierrez | 335 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Mark Gubicza | 344 | $1 | $8 | $15 | $40 |
| Franklin Stubbs | 348 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Kurt Kepshire | 382 | $1 | - | - | $34 |
| Bill Swaggerty | 392 | 50¢ | - | - | $80 |
| Clay Christiansen | 396 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Razor Shines | 401 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Al Jones | 404 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Henry Cotto | 411 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Kirby Puckett | 438 | $7 | $22 | $60 | $570 |
| Rick Schu | 448 | 25¢ | - | $10 | - |
| Mark Bailey | 450 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Ron Romanick | 451 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Jaime Cocanower | 455 | 50¢ | - | - | $45 |
| Barbaro Garbey | 456 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Rex Hudler | 469 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Sid Bream | 470 | $1 | - | $7 | $80 |
| Dave Owen | 483 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Scottie Earl | 491 | $1 | - | - | $27 |
| Jose Rijo | 492 | $1 | - | $17 | $50 |
| Jim Pankovits | 502 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Ralph Citarella | 504 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Curt Young | 522 | 50¢ | - | $5 | - |
| Curt Kaufman | 524 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Skeeter Barnes | 530 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Terry Pendleton | 534 | $1 | $12 | $15 | $35 |
| Vic Rodriguez | 535 | 50¢ | - | - | $45 |
| Mike Pagliarulo | 539 | $1 | - | $12 | $45 |
| Donnie Scott | 544 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Mark Salas | 547 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Jeff Dedmon | 554 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Mark Langston | 557 | $1 | - | $12 | $30 |
| Jimmy Key | 559 | $1 | $11 | $15 | $35 |
| Dan Gladden | 567 | $1 | - | - | $40 |
| Randy St. Claire | 575 | $1 | - | - | $27 |
| Orel Hershiser | 581 | $2 | $12 | $20 | $200 |
| Tom Waddell | 582 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Jeff Kunkel | 587 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Ken Howell | 592 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Willie Lozado | 595 | 75¢ | - | - | $45 |
| Tom Nieto | 596 | 25¢ | - | $5 | $10 |
| Denny Gonzalez | 600 | 75¢ | - | - | $49 |
| Mark Grant | 601 | $1 | - | - | - |
| Rafael Santana | 610 | 75¢ | - | $10 | - |
| Roy Smith | 611 | 75¢ | - | $10 | - |
| Al Nipper | 614 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Jeff Stone | 624 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Kelvin Chapman | 626 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Vic Mata | 629 | 50¢ | - | - | - |
| Phil Bradley | 631 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Tom Browning | 634 | $2 | $15 | $18 | $32 |
| Dan Pasqua | 637 | $1 | - | - | $10 |
| German Rivera | 638 | 50¢ | $7 | $34 | - |
| Don Schulze | 639 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| Wade Rowdon | 642 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Darrell Miller | 644 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Tim Hulett | 645 | 25¢ | - | - | - |
| John Russell | 648 | $1 | - | - | $40 |
| Ron Robinson | 649 | $1 | - | $15 | - |
| Steve Farr | 653 | 75¢ | - | - | - |
| Data Updated: June 2026 | |||||
Overview of 1985 Donruss Baseball Cards
The 1985 Donruss baseball card set is a significant and memorable product from the “junk wax” era of card collecting. It’s known for its distinct design, key rookie cards, and a few unique characteristics that make it stand out.
Set Design and Features: The 1985 Donruss set has a total of 660 cards. The design is known for its bold look, featuring rich black borders that frame a color player photograph. These black borders, while visually appealing, are also a challenge for collectors, as they are prone to chipping and wear, making it difficult to find cards in perfect condition. The cards have a team logo in the bottom corner and the player’s name and position below the image.
Diamond Kings: Cards 1-26 of the set feature hand-drawn art of top players from each team. These “Diamond Kings” were a popular and ongoing feature in Donruss sets from this era. The artwork was created by renowned artist Dick Perez.
Rated Rookies: Donruss was known for its “Rated Rookies” subset, which highlighted promising young players. While not all of the players in this subset became superstars, it was a popular feature that collectors looked for in packs.
Lou Gehrig Puzzle: Each wax pack included three pieces of a 63-piece Lou Gehrig puzzle, which was another signature of the Donruss brand at the time.
Key Rookie Cards: The 1985 Donruss set is highly regarded for its impressive rookie card class, which includes some of the most notable names from the mid-1980s. The most sought-after rookie cards from the set are:
- Roger Clemens (#273): This card is one of the key rookie cards for the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.
- Dwight Gooden (#190): Gooden’s card was highly popular given his incredible rookie season in 1984, which earned him the National League Rookie of the Year award.
- Kirby Puckett (#438): Puckett’s rookie card is a fan favorite, capturing the star outfielder in the early days of his career.
- Eric Davis (#325): The rookie card of the exciting power-hitting and speedy outfielder.
- Orel Hershiser (#581): This card marks the rookie year for the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
1985 Donruss Baseball Set FAQ
Q: What makes the 1985 Donruss set so famously difficult to find in perfect condition?
A: The defining feature of this set is its striking, jet-black borders. While they look incredibly sleek, black borders are notoriously fragile and show even the microscopic flaws. Cards pulled straight out of fresh wax packs often suffer from white “chipping” along the edges and corners due to the factory cutting blades. Because of this extreme condition sensitivity, finding high-grade copies (like PSA 9 or 10) of any player in this set is a massive challenge that commands a major price premium.
Q: How can I easily identify the 1985 Donruss card design?
A: Beyond the obvious solid black outer borders, look at the bottom of the card front. The black border is interrupted on the lower sides by five short, vibrant red accent stripes. The player’s name and position are printed in a clean font at the bottom, right next to a small team logo. This was also a historic year for branding: Donruss debuted the stacked, modern “Rated Rookie” logo design in the bottom corner of select prospect cards—a logo format they still use decades later.
Q: Are there any major error cards or photo mix-ups in this set?
A: Yes, the factory suffered from some spectacular photo blunders this year. The most egregious is card #424, which is supposed to be Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, but actually features a photograph of his White Sox teammate, Floyd Bannister. Another notable mistake is card #534, the Terry Pendleton rookie card, where his first name was accidentally printed as “Jeff” on early production runs before being corrected.
Popular Rookie Cards From 1985 Donruss Baseball
